Escutcheons provide a decorative surface to cover a portion of a wall or to cover the opening in a ceiling through which the support of a ceiling fixture extends. Escutcheons are used to avoid an unpleasant and disagreeable appearance and to maintain the architectural appearance of the building interior by hiding the interface between the ceiling fixture support and the ceiling. Installation of fixtures is speeded up, as escutcheons cover up imprecise holes, irregular holes, and broken out portions of ceilings, for example.
Conventional escutcheons are known to come in a variety of shapes and designs, and are used with a variety of ceiling fixtures, such as ceiling fans, sprinklers, chandeliers, and other types of hanging lights. Because escutcheons are used in a variety of ceiling fixtures, manufacturers and retailers must make available a large variety of shapes and designs in order to meet consumer needs.
However, companies today are now focusing more and more on becoming more efficient, productive and profitable. Therefore, the need to reduce manufacturing and retail cost and to increase sales is a high priority.